Compendium of the World's Languages

Noun

There is no category of gender in Comanche.

In citation form, Comanche nouns appear with the absolutive suffix -bi:
toyabi 'mountain'. This suffix is discarded when the noun is inflected in
any way. There are primary and compound nouns: e.g. kuhtsu' 'cow';
numu,kuhtsu' 'buffalo', i.e. 'Comanche-people (numu) cow'. Many com-
pounds are formed with suffixes, e.g. the diminutive/endearment suffix -hisf:
tuibihtsf 'brave', 'young m^n'.

The prefix na marks an intrinsic relationship between components in a
compound:

na'buku.waa' 'automobile'

ipuku 'horse', waa 'horn sound')/? > b after Vox V

Nouns formed from the imperfective verbal participle in -tu express a
durative or permanent quality of the referent: RA give the following
examples:

oha'ahnaka.tu 'one with yellow {oha') underarms (ahna-)\ i.e. coyote,

-ka- 'having'
oha.h.poko.pi 'yellow berries (pokoy + generic marker, i.e. 'carrot'.

The perfective participial marker is -Hpuh > pu. Nouns formed with this
suffix express a completed state of affairs, the completed result of action:

tekwa.pu 'that which has been spoken' (tekwa.ru 'to speak'), i.e. 'word'
na.boo.pu 'that which has been drawn' (stem -poo- 'to write'), i.e.
'picture'

NOMINAL INFLECTION

The citation marker -bi was mentioned above. It may also take the form -pi,
e.g. after nouns of colour: oha.pi 'yellow'.

NUMBER

Comanche nouns may be singular, dual, or plural. However, for non-human
referents, number is normally unmarked.

kahni 'house' - dual kahni nuhu - pi. kahni nuu

These endings are not invariable. Thus, the -nuu ending is reduced to u in
(polysyllabic) compounds and derivatory nouns:

oha'ahnakatu.e 'coyotes'

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DECLENSION

Three cases - accusative, genitive, vocative - are marked. Formation of the
vocative is unpredictable.

Accusative: the accusative marker is -/ or -a. -a appears, for example, after
finals in glottal stop: kwasinaboo' 'snake', ace. kwasinaboo' a. Elsewhere, a
low final vowel coalesces with -/ to give -e: puku ' horse', ace. puke. Nouns in

-u change this vowel to -i in the accusative: oha' ahnakatu 'coyote', ace.
oha'ahnakati.

Nouns ending in labial + i make an accusative in -hta: puhihwi 'money',
ace. puhihwihta. Dual and plural accusative is in -/ + anticipatory vowel
harmony: nuhu > nihi (dual): numunuu 'Comanches', ace. numunii.

Genitive: possessor precedes possessed, and, if singular, may be marked by
-a or -0: oha'ahnakatatu.n.a kwasi 'coyote's tail', where the -n- is historically
present, though dropped in the modern language. The dual genitive marker
is -«, the plural -0.

COMPOUNDING

There are many examples of simple juxtaposition: AB = C.

tuboo.kahni 'schoolhouse' ('writing house')
tuboo.tahni 'postman' ('writing deliver')
puhihwi.kahni 'bank' ('money house')
puhihwi.paraiboo' 'banker' ('money boss')

Adjective

Adjectives in Comanche are simple or derived; the latter frequently occur
with the aspectual markers -tulru, -pu, Cf tue'tu 'small', pu htu 'heavy',
nasaapu 'boiled' ('having reached the state of boiling'). The adjective
precedes the noun, and is redupHcated for plural: pia 'big': pibia
niwunu'mu 'those (pi. marker mu) who talk (stem niwmu) big', i.e. 'a
Comanche band'.

The numeral sumu' 'one' has a reduplicated form meaning 'some': the
plural nuu is added: susumu'nuu numunuu 'some Comanches'.

SECOND EDITION

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

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DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVE

These precede the noun. Two relative degrees are distinguished for each of
the three categories: proximate, distal, and dispersed. Thus, the proximate
series has two sub-divisions, /- for close at hand, ma- for somewhat farther
away. Similarly, the distal category has o- and w-. The common marker for
the category of dispersed objects is e-. The i-, ma-, o-, and u- markers also
function as 3rd p. pronominal stems. The imperfective participial -tulru may
follow the demonstrative stems: itu.u 'these' (relatively close to hand prox-
imate plural).

The demonstrative adjectives take accusative and genitive inflections. An
s- prefix (not possible in the ma- series) indicates that the topic now marked
by the demonstrative has already been introduced, and is known to the
listener.

Some examples:

s.it.uu 'of these': the proximate plural referent is known to the listener;
mahka 'this/that', ace. (-hka is an ace. form which occurs only in the

demonstrative series);
s.u.h.ru 'of those two': dual, non-immediate, distal referent known to the

listener.

PERSONAL PRONOUN

The 1st p. stem is to'; dual and plural forms distinguish inclusive/exclusive:
e.g. nukwu, 1st p. dual exclusive; nunu, 1st p. plural exclusive. The 2nd p.
singular base is mu; with dual and plural forms. 3rd p.: the demonstrative
stems (see above) + glottal stop: /', ma\ etc. Cf. Mark 1.11: nu Rua' unu, nu
kamakuna 'thou (unu) art my {nu) my son {tua' > rua') my beloved
{kamakund)\

The personal pronouns have accusative and genitive forms. A specimen
row follows: 1st p. (base nu') genitive forms:

sing.: nu dual exclusive: nuhu\ plural exclusive: numu.

The first person exclusive plural genitive is the name used by the
Comanches for themselves: 'of us/ours. . . '. The word has already been given
above in the Comanche term for buffalo: 'our cow'. Similar usages are:
numu ruborapu 'our born-ones', i.e. the present generation of Comanches;
numu mpu 'our shoe' = moccasin; numunaitu 'to live as a Comanche'.

The postposition matu 'up to, onto' follows genitive forms to express a
dative: cf

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Mark 2.18 me u.matvi niwenw (quot. me) 'they say to him'

1.17 me uhm.matu yuhkwi (quot. me) 'he said to the two' (dual)

2.19 me urutt.matu yuhkwi (quot. me) 'he said to them' (pi.)

9.13 memumu.matu (quot. me) 'I say to you'
yukwitu

The postposition matu coalesces with the proximate demonstrative ma to
form maatu: an example from Robinson and Armagost: situu kwasinaboo'
maatu tunehtsmu, 'this snake ran up to him'.

INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS AND MARKERS

Who? is expressed by hakaru: Mark 3.33:

hakaru.se' nu via' tuasu xm rami'nuu
'who is my mother, or my brethren?'

(se' is a contrast or concessive? marker; pia 'mother' > via, after vowel;
tuasu conjunction 'and'; tamf 'younger brother' > rami after vowel)

hinalhini 'what?'; hakaniiku 'how?'
The usual interrogative marker for a yes/no situation is -ha (example from
Robinson and Armagost):

nu kahni.ha tsaa.yu 'is my house good?'

(kahni 'house'; tsaa 'good'; yu is a verbaHzing formant)

Verb

The Comanche verb has a citation form (normally in -m for low-vowel
stems, in -tu for high: cf. tekwaru 'to speak'; miaru 'to go'; wekwiitu 'to
enter') and a valency form, which does not occur in isolation, but always
with affixes or other valencies, e.g. in compounds. Stems may vary for
number, with reference to the subject of an intransitive, to the object of a
transitive verb.

tuyaaitti 'to die' (singular sbj.)
kooitu 'to die' (dual/plural sbj.)

Robinson and Armagost give the following good example from Canonge's
Comanche Texts:

soobe'su nunu su.nih.ku puhitoo'a ruku.wasa.'e.tu.u
'long ago, we killed turkeys for food in that way'

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where puhitoo' 'turkey' is not marked for plurality {-a is the accusative
inflection); that 'turkeys' are meant, however, emerges from the verb stem,
which would have been tuku.hpehka had only one turkey been killed
{tuku > ruku, following vowel).

Like many other languages of America (cf Haida and Kwakiutl)
Comanche uses affixes to specify the means by which, and the manner in
which, an action is carried out. Thus, the prefix ku- indicates action with the
head, ku(hy with the teeth, sHuQi)- with the feet: situ,ku,se' u suuh.po'tse.nu
'he/she kicked it' (Robinson and Armagost). Direction of motion is
indicated by suffixes: -ki for motion towards, -kwa for motion away from
something or someone.

The Comanche verb is marked for aspect, not for tense. The following
aspects are distinguished: inceptive, stative, perfective, durative, progressive,
repetitive. Certain aspect markers are themselves verbs; e.g. the inceptive
marker -pirn is, or at least recapitulates, the YQThpi{i)tu 'to arrive'. Cf Mark
4.37:

suruku'se' kuhtaa nue.hu.piitu
'and then it began to blow hard'
{kuhtaanuetu 'to blow hard, be stormy')

It will be seen thsii pitu is affixed to the citation form of the verb; the
perfective markers -ma and '/ are also added to the citation form, though a
second inceptive marker, tuki, takes the valency form. Cf urii punfi (per-
fective) he saw them (pmitu 'to see'). The repetitive marker is 'e added to the
citation form.

The reflexive/passive marker is m-; e.g. punitu 'to look': na,buni 'to look
at oneself.
The affix -to functions as a narrative past marker. Cf Mark 3.19:
wihnuse' suruu kahniku wekwinu 'and they went into a house'
{wihnu + se' 'then, however. . . ', suruu 'they' (distal), kahni 'house', -ku
postposition 'into', wekwiitu 'to go')

NEGATION

The marker is kee or ke. Negated sentences tend to be imperfective as
regards aspect. There is a prohibitive marker: keta': keta' turuhkaaru 'do not
steal' (Mark 10.19).

ke is prefixed to stems in a privative capacity: keJokwe 'not right'
ke.bayumukitu 'not moving'.

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Adverb

Certain locational and directional adverbs are formed by adding the
formants kN, bN, hY to a demonstrative stem, proximate or distal, where V
harmonizes with the root vowel of the demonstrative.

Postpositions

Comanche has a plentiful supply of these, e.g. -hi/ti 'in, at', -kaba 'among',
-kuhpa 'inside', -kahtu 'into', 'miihtsf 'near', -tu 'from, out of: e.g.
narumu.kahtu 'into (the) town'; paa.h.kuJu 'from out of the water' (Mark
1.10). In concatenations of postpositions, the simple forms, such as those
given above, take precedence over others, with intensifiers Uke -taka or -tuku
in final position.

Word order and syntax

Robinson and Armagost give SV for principal intransitive, SOV for principal
transitive clauses, where S is in the nominative. E.g. Mark 9.13:

me nu' mumumatu yukwitu 'I (thus) say to you'

but note such sentences in the Robinson and Armagost dictionary as:

sarii.a (O) hipukatu (V) nu (S in genitive) 'I own the dog'

u (O ace.) nimai(h)katu (V) u' (S nom.) 'he is calling you' (Mark 10.49)

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

(a) Relative: both S and O (if present) are in the genitive. Here, Robinson
and Armagost give the following excellent example:

nu buhiwi.hta nu'/narohtuma.ku nu ruki.'ih.a/watsi.ka'

'I lost my money/that I had put in a can'

(nu buhiwi.hta 'my money', ace. in -hta; nu' 1st p. nom.; narohtuma.ku

'into' {-ku) 'the/a can'; nu 1st p. sing, in genitive as S of relative clause;

ruki < tukaru (sing, stem) 'to put'; 'jA marks accomplished action;

watsitu 'to lose'; ku causative marker; '/marks accomplished action)

(b) Complementary (adverbial): here, both S and O (if present) are in the
accusative.

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In both (a) and (b) duplication of pronominal forms may result. Again,
Robinson and Armagost provide a good example:

urii urii maka.hka. ku.se' 'when they (S) had fed them (O)'

with both S and O in the accusative. The meaning is clear, however, as the
infixed -hta- is a marker denoting subject switch.
The declarative particle tsa' follows the subject:

tenahpu tsa' aruka'a naayaru

'the man (tenahpu) is trailing the deer (ace.)'

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